Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first overseas trip will be to Central America next week, including a stop in Panama, carrying weight behind President Donald Trump's push for the U.S. to retake control of the Panama Canal.
Rubio also will visit Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.
Trump accused Panama of breaking promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999, 22 years after a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, and ceding operations to China.
"We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama's promise to us has been broken," Trump said Monday during his inaugural address. "The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form. And that includes the United States Navy.
"And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back."
Ricaurte Vásquez, the administrator of the Panama Canal, has rejected Trump's claims that China was controlling the canal's operations.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Thursday the destinations for Rubio's first trip reflect his interest in elevating ties with neighboring countries, especially regarding immigration. Rubio likely will discuss formal agreements to take back foreign nationals as part of Trump's plans for mass deportations of illegal immigrants, CBS News reported.
"This is a serious approach by the Secretary to deal with the issues that directly affect our ability to get this nation back on her feet and to deal with why there is such high migration," Bruce said, according to ABC News.
She added the trip "signals something to those countries, it should signal something to Americans and to those who also said that 'America First' was an isolationist argument. It is the opposite."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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